Major sponsors Visa and Coca-Cola Wednesday pressed FIFA to help improve labor conditions in Qatar as Amnesty International accused the 2022 World Cup host of failing to deliver on promised reforms for migrant workers.

"We continue to be troubled by the reports coming out of Qatar related to the World Cup and migrant worker conditions," credit card giant Visa said, adding that it had expressed its "grave concern" directly to football's top body.

An army of stylists, hairdressers and make-up artists work flat-out behind the scenes at the Cannes Film Festival to ensure not an eyelash is out of place for the big moment on the red carpet. 

"We have a real responsibility. At Cannes, the 'look' is dissected at an incredible speed," said French hair stylist Stephane Bodin, a regular at the world's leading film festival on the French Riviera. 

A publicist for the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie denied reports Thursday that Johnny Depp stormed off the Australian set to be with his wife in the United States.

The superstar actor has been shooting scenes as swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow on the Gold Coast tourist strip in Queensland state, but the Gold Coast Bulletin said he walked out on Wednesday, reportedly with his marriage in trouble. 

Islamic State group jihadists seized full control of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday, putting the world heritage site and its priceless artifacts at risk of destruction.

The ransacking of Palmyra, a 2,000-year-old former stopping point for caravans on the Silk Road, would be "an enormous loss to humanity," UNESCO head Irina Bokova warned.

Central bankers from across the world gather in Portugal on Thursday to try to see past pressing issues such as Greece and market turbulence, and take a longer view of the global economy. 

The European Central Bank has invited leading economists, academics, financial market players and central bankers from across the globe to a secluded luxury resort in Sintra, around 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Lisbon, for a three-day think-fest.

China's manufacturing activity contracted at a slower pace in May, an HSBC survey showed Thursday, but companies cut back production and jobs despite government attempts to reinvigorate the world's second-largest economy.

The preliminary reading for the British banking giant's purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 49.1 for this month, improving from a final figure of 48.9 in April, it said in a statement.

Opening the church door in Baihanluo reveals a large portrait of Pope Francis -- something of a paradox in an ethnically Tibetan area of Communist China.

The village is only reachable on foot or by horse, and surrounded by snow-capped Himalayan peaks.

Australia's former top Catholic cleric, now Pope Francis' finance chief, on Thursday denied trying to bribe a victim of a paedophile priest to keep quiet as an inquiry heard of horrifying abuse.

Cardinal George Pell spoke out as abuse survivors demanded he return to Australia to give evidence to a royal commission on the allegations.

New Zealand confirmed Thursday it had failed to meet a pledge to deliver a budget surplus this year, although Finance Minister Bill English insisted the government's books were on the right track.

The annual budget showed a deficit of NZ$684 million ($500 million) for 2014-15, more than a billion dollars off the NZ$372 million surplus English predicted last year.

The king of late-night television, David Letterman, brought the curtain down on a 33-year career in an emotional final show packed with jokes and farewells from U.S. presidents, Hollywood stars and devoted fans.

The last-ever "Late Show with David Letterman" brings to an end an American cultural institution that has been watched by millions and an extraordinary career that has inspired a generation of comedians.